Most stairways include a hand rail which provides support for a hand of a person ascending or descending the stairway. Some hand rails are supported by balusters which extend upward from treads of the stairway. The person walks on the treads to ascend or descend the stairway. In residential and other settings, balusters have traditionally been made of wood. More recently, metal balusters have become popular. It is now common to replace existing wood balusters with metal balusters and to install metal balusters in new construction. Conventional methods of installing metal balusters involve several time consuming steps which require a high degree of precision and do not result in an optimal installation. Improvements are needed.
Although the systems and methods disclosed herein are described with respect to stairways and installation of components of balustrades, it will be appreciated that the systems and methods may be used in other settings without departing from the scope of the present invention.